A marquee matchup between Barcelona and PSG headlines Wednesday’s Champions League action.
The pregame narrative: PSG is facing an injury crisis ahead of its trip to Spain, with Ousmane Dembele headlining the absentees. Barcelona has been dominating its way through the season’s early stages and has value in picking up a sixth straight win.
Check out the best Champions League predictions for the matches on Oct. 1, featuring a prop bet on Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz.
Champions League predictions
Best bet: Barcelona to win (-120)
I would be looking to back PSG in some capacity with healthy rosters on a neutral site. But that’s far from the case here.
The Parisians are without reigning Ballon d’Or winner Dembele, who is the linchpin of their midfield, both offensively and defensively.
On top of that, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are on the list of sidelined attackers, while centre-back and captain Marquinhos is out with a thigh injury.
PSG has solid depth, but I struggle to see how it’ll beat an elite Barcelona side playing at home.
Hansi Flick’s group sits 6-1-0 in La Liga with a league-best 21 goals and +16 goal differential.
Barcelona is also 8-1-1 in its last 10 home games dating back to last season, with a win over Real Madrid and a 6-0 rout against Valencia on Sept. 14.
Flick’s squad began its UCL journey with an impressive 2-1 win against Newcastle at St. James’ Park, with Lamine Yamal sidelined.
The 18-year-old wunderkind is back for this matchup and has four goal contributions in three starts for Barca this season.
Key stat: Barcelona averaged the most goals per game (3.1) in the UCL last year.
Best Pafos FC vs. Bayern Munich bet
Luis Diaz to score (+130): Bayern Munich is -800 to win on the road against Pafos FC, which leads Cyprus’ first division.
This is about as big a mismatch as you’ll find in the league phase.
Harry Kane would be a natural target on the goalscorer market, but he’s -275 to find the net, which is hardly playable.
So instead, I’ll turn to Diaz, who has been great so far.
- Diaz has four goals in eight matches across all competitions (second to Kane’s 15).
- The Colombian is only slightly behind Kane in non-penalty xG (2.7 to 3.0).
- Diaz leads all Bayern players with 700 minutes played, which is great for this wager.
Look for Diaz to be active in what should be a rout.
Champions League predictions made at 10:44 a.m. on 09/30/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.